


Lost in the Past

by OnlyAlice24



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry Primal
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Animal Death, Blood and Violence, Cavemen, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-04-30 15:33:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14500107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyAlice24/pseuds/OnlyAlice24
Summary: Rina is torn away from her life and dumped right into the middle of the 10,000 BC, she has no memories and knows nothing about this new land around her. Getting taken in by a tribe of cannibalistic neanderthals might turn out to be the least of her problems.Will she survive? Will she thrive? And will she find a way to get home and regain her memories?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've honestly been meaning to write this fanfiction since I finished Far Cry Primal which was a few months ago now, but finally got around to it. I really liked Ull from Far Cry Primal and was sadly disappointed when I saw how little screen time he got, seriously five minutes....come on guys. So anyway, wanted to write a fanfiction with him as one of the main characters.
> 
> I decided not to use the language from the game because it seemed too complex for me to learn for a fanfictional story, and I know he talks much much more modern than he does in the game but it's just a minor alteration which I hope you can forgive me for!
> 
> Also, do let me know what you think in the comments and give me kudos if you liked the story!

It was the middle of the night and it was blistering cold in the mountains of Northern Oros. It had just started to snow again and a bitterly cold wind started to whip through the valley. A young woman started to come to and she began to shiver almost instantly as the realization of the cold sunk in immediately. The wind bit at her pale skin and tore through her reddish brown hair and her teeth began to chatter loudly. She sat up and her head swam and her stomach churned uncomfortably. Her hand shot to her forehead and she squeezed her eyes shut and fought the urge to throw up. After a short moment she slowly reopened her eyes and looked around her taking in her surroundings and then a deep set fear began to set in and breathing started to become heavier and more uncontrollable. She looked down at herself and gagged slightly when she saw what she was wearing, a dress made from what looked like animal skin, she tugged on the hem disagreeably and the shells tied around her wrists caught her attention. She twisted the bracelet around fingers running over what were small shells held together by a small braided cord fashioned from some sort of grass. The wind howled and she was brought back to reality swiftly and she slowly got to her feet and looked around wildly, her entire body shivering. For miles around her all she could see was a blanket of snow enveloping the world around her, tall mountains lined the distance and there wasn't a single living creature in sight. "Where am I?" she whispered, her voice shaking from the cold.

She wracked her brain trying to remember where she was and what she might be doing there but it was as though someone had erased her memory and there was nothing left. The only thing she seemed capable of remembering was her own name, "Rina..." she whispered and the wind quickly stole her voice. Tears of helplessness sprung into her eyes and she hung her head in premature defeat; she had no idea where she was or how she got there, she was freezing cold, she was hungry and there was no signs of life anywhere, or so she thought.

A low growl came from behind her and she stiffened for a moment before slowly turning around to greet a pair of glowing yellow eyes coming from a thicket of grass behind her. She swallowed nervously as another growl came from the grass before a large cat like creature with huge teeth emerged and stared her down. 'Run' whispered a little voice in her head and she turned on her heel and began to run as fast as she could. The became furious at her actions and took off after her in hot pursuit. Fear fueled her to run faster as she could hear the cats paws thundering on the ground behind her, growing closer and closer. She started a descent down a steep hill covered in rock that were wet from the snow. She slipped on one and her body thudded into the ground painfully, she winched as she felt her skin graze painfully against the ground. She quickly pulled herself back to her feet and slid down the hill but let out a scream as she saw that the hill was rapidly coming to an end in the form of a cliff overlooking a roaring river. She reached out to seize a tuft of grass to stop her descent and she hissed in pain as the grass cut into her palm. She spun around to see the cat catching up and she realized she had two choices, die by wild cat or brave the fall into the river below. She took one more look at the cat before leaping into the water below.

Her back hit the water with a painful sting and the water was both freezing cold and soothing at the same time and it was very very strong and it began to sweep her away aggressively and she was struggling to keep herself afloat. A wave of water crashed over her, plunging her under the water and liquid quickly filled her lungs and she felt as though someone was squeezing her neck suffocating her, and she thrashed out her arms struggling fruitlessly against the water before finally her head hit something hard and she passed out.

She felt herself coming around the feeling of someone stroking her face and hair and had she not been delirious from inhaling large amounts of water, having a raging headache and being exhausted from fighting the current of the river she might have cared more. Instead she warily opened her eyes and stared blankly at a brown haired man sitting in front of her touching her face. He quickly noticed that she was awake and jerked his hand back to his side and looked away from her. Her head swum as she looked from left to right inspecting her surroundings. She was in a large tent fashioned from what looked like animal skin and she guessed that she was lying on a bed of animal fur also judging by it's softness. The tent currently houses several occupants, one of which included the man who had been touching her face. They were all crowded around her, staring at her curiously. She closed her eyes again for a moment as she tried to battle the intense nausea she was feeling. Upon opening her eyes she tried weakly to sit up, but two men noticed and leapt at her instantly pinning her back down by her arms. She yelped loudly in pain and struggled feebly against their grasps, but she was too exhausted to fight for long and she soon gave up. She looked at the sound of someone entering the tent to see a large man enter, he waved his hand and several of the occupants left bar the two who held her down.

He had a large animal fur around his shoulders, and his chest and neck were adorned with a false rib cage of bones tied together with strips of leather. He also had bones tied around his wrists and ankles with strips of leather. He wore furs around his waist like a skirt which was stained red with blood. He had boots fashioned from fur and leather that poked out from beneath the bone decorations. Her eyes traveled up to his face and she had to suppress a gasp of surprise when she saw his face. One side of his face was what could be considered normal, brutish and hard looking but normal. He had reddish brown hair much like her own that was knotted down the same side of his head and piercing blue eyes. But the other side of his head had been melted away and burned including the hair and ear. The skin left behind was twisted, gnarled and patchy with red splotches that looked like blood.

He stopped in front of her and she gulped, feeling intimidated by his size. "You Wenja?" he asked and she frowned before shaking her head. "Izila?" she shook her head. "You not Udam..." he started and crouched down beside her and grabbed a strand of her own reddish brown hair. "You look like Udam..." he mused, staring intently at the hair for a moment before dropping it and turning his attention back to her, "where you from?"

She shook her head, "I don't know...I don't remember...."she said feebly. "Please let me go..." she pleaded softly.

He looked her up and down before placing a hand roughly on her legs surveying her wounds, she flinched at the touch. "You hurt, what happened?" he asked.

"A wild cat chased me, I ran away, fell down a hill and jumped into a river and almost drowned trying to get away," she responded quickly. She struggled weakly against the men who were still holding her down and the large man finally waved them away and they left the tent leaving only the two of them. She was finally able to sit up and she groaned loudly in pain, everything ached and her head throbbed and swam uncomfortably at the sudden motion. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched her stomach, fighting the urge to throw up. After a moment she removed her hand and slowly opened her eyes and looked down at her legs and she cringed when she saw them. They were pretty badly cut up, covered in dried blood with torn skin hanging from some of the wounds, she reached out to touch them but not before noticing that her palm was also covered in blood and she suddenly remembered cutting it on the grass on her descent down the hill. She curled her hand into a fist and tucked it away at her side before looking up at him, "Who are you?" she asked softly, her eyes searching his face.

"Ull, I am Udam," he responded, "you?"

"Rina," she responded and fell silent for a moment before speaking again. "What is Udam, Wenja and Izila?"

He eyed her curiously, noting her obvious confusion and his brow furrowed more than normal, "Why you not know them? You not from here?" he asked.

She stared back at him blankly and she swallowed nervously, "I'm sorry...but I don't remember anything," she started. Her lip trembled slightly but she continued in a shaky voice, "all I remember is waking up in the cold, and it was snowing...and I was alone...." her voice trailed off realizing he was staring intensely at her and she suddenly felt extremely intimidated and unsafe. "What's going to happen to me?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper, fear clearly displayed on her face.

Being a cruel man by nature, he leaned in closer to her, obviously trying to intimidate her further, "We usually eat prisoners for strength, but you weak, nothing to gain from eating the weak," he said leaning in close to her face, close enough so she could smell his foul breath and she cowered back further wanting very much to put some distance between the two of them. But there was nowhere to go and she was forced to stare back at him and so she tried to do so with some confidence.

"If you won't eat me, then what will you do? What will become of me?" she asked, boring into his eyes with her own as though trying to challenge him.

He noted her determination as he observed her. He didn't answer her immediately because the truth was he didn't know what to do with her. A part of him wanted to throw her with the other prisoners to be consumed, but he had been wrong when he called her weak; surviving a wild cat attack, falling down a hill and sustaining some nasty injuries and then almost drowning, her still being alive after all that proved she was anything but weak. Having so much determination to stay alive he considered she might be worth keeping around, trained to be a warrior for his tribe. And the fact that she didn't seem to have any memory and knew nothing about his nor the other tribes in Oros was puzzling to him and he had a desire to know more.

He reached and grabbed her chin roughly causing her to flinch violently, he twisted her head from side to side as though he were inspecting her. He let her go after a moment and sat back, "You stay here in Udam land. I teach you to become Udam Warrior," he said.

She looked at him, a little confused for a moment before speaking, "But I know almost nothing of this world..."

"You will learn," he said and she shut her mouth, her attention dropping to her hands fiddling in her lap. He grabbed her chin again, a little gentler this time, forcing her to look up at him, "Ull will make you strong," he said determined.

Her lips curved slightly after a moment and she nodded in agreement, "Okay."


	2. Chapter Two

Rina took a deep breath and pulled back the bow string with a gentle precision and as she exhaled she released the arrow and there was a small shift in the grass up ahead of her indicating that her aim had been true. She lowered the bow, paused for a moment before hooking it over her shoulder and stepping forward through the grass to retrieve her kill. Kneeling down in the grass she cocked her head curiously looking down at her kill; a white rabbit with fur built to blend into the powdered snow around them, but it hadn't done him any good today. The arrow had gone straight through it's head as she had intended, killing it instantly, she was thankful that it had not suffered. She grabbed the arrow and yanked it out roughly and cleaned it quickly on the grass before stowing it away into her hide quiver. She picked the rabbit up by it's ears and got to her feet, retracing her steps and presented the rabbit proudly to Ull with a grin. 

He took the rabbit from her and turned it over in his hands, noting the clean kill, and he was silently impressed. However, having not taught her how to use a bow and arrow himself, he wondered where she had learnt and mastered this new skill. "Who teach you this?" he asked, handing the rabbit back to her.

She took the rabbit back and threw it into the hide bag that hung around her waist, "I taught myself," she said and stepped past him and began heading back home, her boots making small indents in the snow.

He frowned and not satisfied with this answer he pressed her further, "How?" he asked, starting after her.

She sighed, obviously reluctant to divulge what could be potentially sensitive information, "I've been sneaking away to spy on the Wenja tribe. They are formidable with a bow and arrow and I wanted to learn how to shoot."

He followed her silently for a few paces before speaking again, "You sneak from Udam Homeland to spy on enemy? Anyone see you?" he asked.

"Yes and no," she replied and kept walking.

He grunted, but said nothing in response. She sighed, relieved that he wasn't angry and kept walking. They walking in silence for some time and they soon re-entered Udam homeland, protected by the vast rocky nearly un-passable mountains that surrounded it and blistering cold snowy conditions. 

Udam homeland had very quickly become her own home as well, and she had adopted many of the Udam customs and ways of life, but there was one way of life she had not cared to adopt and that was their taste for human flesh. Even Ull, the man she had grown to look up to as a mentor and a guardian of sorts, had a disgusting taste for human flesh and he ate it in pounds, in fact he didn't eat a whole lot of anything else. She had hoped that by learning how to hunt that she could provide him with some alternatives and so far it was working.

There was another reason she wished to change his diet too, she had witnessed and come to terms with the very quickly diminishing health of her people, their mass-affliction with a disease known to them as "Skull Fire" which caused crippling headaches, trembling and eventually death. In an attempt to cure themselves of this ailment they consumed Wenja and Izila captives in the hopes it would make them strong so they could fight off the disease. Rina had little doubt that the consumption of human flesh was what was actually a helping factor in causing the illness but she was yet to share her thoughts with the Udam War Chief for fear of backlash and rejection from the powerful man. He had been leading his people in this way of life for many years and she did not wish to step out of line by speaking her thoughts, and even if she did, she very much doubted that he would listen.

The Wenja she had learnt were a relatively peaceful tribe that lived in the central valley of Oros. Rumors had spread that their was a man from the tribe referred to as the Beast Master and it was said that he could tame and command many beasts. He sounded powerful and Rina had hoped to have caught a glimpse of him while spying on the camp, but she had seen nothing out of the ordinary which came as an obvious disappointment. She did not inherently despise the Wenja as Ull did, but as a close ally to the War Chief and his people she kept her distance.

The Izila, the inhabitants of the southern marshes of Oros were despicable, disgusting beings who captured and either enslaved or sacrificed Wenja and Udam alike. Masters of fire and the creators of much more modern technologies than the Udam were used to made them formidable and terrifying. As long as Izila lived to roam Oros she felt she would live in constant fear for not only her own safety but also for the safety of those who she had come to know as her people.

Rina craved peace above anything else, and it hurt her to see so much bloodshed and suffering on all sides, but she had come to realize that perhaps it was just a part of life, just another step towards surviving, just like killing that rabbit had been.

Stepping back into camp, her and Ull parted ways, though she knew she would see him again later when she brought him food. She was determined to continue hunting and providing him with good food because she was desperately hoping that it wasn't too late to repair the damage that his life of eating human flesh was causing him. She knew that he too suffered from "Skull Fire". She could see it when he rubbed his head uncomfortably, or when he crumpled his face up in obvious discomfort and she could see the trembling in his hands, particularly when he ate. She tried not to pity him because she knew he would view it as a sign of weakness, but she did worry and she was still adamant to try and secure him a better future.

She entered her tent and carefully put down her bow and quiver before pulling the rabbit from her waist bag, she pulled out a small knife and was preparing to skin it when she heard someone enter her tent. She spun around to see a small familiar face. She smiled sweetly at a small red haired little girl with a splattering of freckles across her pale skin; this was Ull's daughter, Nita. Rina had grown into somewhat of a mother's role for the young girl since her arrival in the camp. The pair were very close and Nita was almost always attached to Rina's hip whenever she was in camp.

"Hello Nita," she greeted the girl warmly and she crouched down to the girl's level. The girl threw her arms around Rina in a hug but didn't respond. Rina hugged her back, her hand rubbing circles on the girl's back until the girl finally released her. Rina pointed to the rabbit abandoned on the ground, "You want to watch?" she asked and the girl nodded before settling herself down on a fur near by to watch. The girl didn't speak much because she was incredibly shy, even around Rina or her own father, but Rina was determined to be to Nita what Ull was to her and she wanted to be able to teach the girl as many skills as she could. Rina couldn't wait for Nita to grow a little older so that she could accompany her on hunting trips, but for now she stayed behind and took care of her baby brother. The little boy hadn't had a name when Rina first arrived but she had helped Ull to pick the namd Rian or little king, which she thought was only appropriate being the son of the war chief.

Rina thought it was odd that Ull had two children and yet no apparent mate. Rina expected the worst but had never wanted to ask in case it was a touchy subject with the man. She had so, so many questions for the man, but she always felt like she was walking on eggshells around him not knowing what his reaction would be, so she constantly had to shut down her curiosity and lived alongside him in painful silence.

Providing food for two hungry mouths, including her own didn't leave her with a lot of spare time. Once she was done hunting, then skinning, preparing the skin for tanning, and then preparing the meat for cooking or drying she didn't have a lot of other time available to her while the sun stood high. But it was a job that she had settled into quite nicely. She enjoyed the hunting, despite it being incredibly distasteful to begin with due to the blood and guts of the aftermath, but she soon grew used to it and came to enjoy it as time passed. She hunted larger animals like deer, goats and the occasional wild cat stupid enough to cross her for Ull and Nita, and chose to hunt smaller animals like badgers or rabbits for herself. She often used the furs for clothing or bedding for herself and Nita, but Ull refused to accept new furs even though his animal furs were stained with old blood. She assumed it was a matter of appearing as though he had escaped many battles alive in an attempt to appear powerful, though she wasn't sure he exactly needed help with that at all. He was about 6ft and built of mostly muscle, he was a force to be reckoned with and no one dared stand up to him.

Rina dunked the hide into a bowl of water and scrubbed at it fiercely with a brush she had fashioned from boars hair and a piece of wood. The water soon turned brown and murky and she fished the hide out and rung out the excess water. She pulled out her small flint knife and began driving small holes around the edges of the hide to prepare it for drying. She looked over at Nita as she worked, the small girl was watching he work intensely, probably not really understanding a thing. She was still so young and had much to learn. Rina worried deeply for her future, wondering if she too would begin to suffer from "Skull Fire" like the rest of her people.

Rina drove the knife into the hide and twisted it around aggressively before feeling something touch her arm. She jumped slightly and looked up at Nita who was sucking on her thumb. She put down the hide and the knife and pulled Nita into her lap and the girl quickly closed her eyes and leaned against her chest, "Are you sleepy?" she asked and the girl nodded slightly, not opening her eyes. Rina stood up, cradling the girl in her arms and headed out of her tent and up the hill towards the caves where Ull lived with Nita and Rian. Stepping into the caves she realized why the chief and his family lived here as opposed to outside in a tent like the rest of their people; despite the temperature being much the same as the outside, they were certainly better sheltered from the elements than those who lived outside, particularly against the bitterly cold wind. She felt jealous considering she felt as though she were apart of the family, given Nita was almost always attached to Rina's hip.

Stepping into what was the sleeping chamber, she knelt down and laid Nita down on one of the furs. She pulled up a hide blanket to cover the girl and smoothed her hair out of her face as the girl drifted into a deep sleep. She smiled down at her small freckled face and messy red hair, "One might think you were a daughter of mine looking like that," she whispered with a giggled.

Ull almost walked in but pulled back when he saw Rina sit down beside his daughter and began to stroke her hair and he couldn't help but notice a strong resemblance between the pair. Rina could have been Nita's mother. Rina leaned down and kissed the girl on the forehead and whispered, "I love you Nita. I love you as though you were my own," and Ull sighed heavily and turned on his heel with a strange feeling in his chest.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh, not entirely happy with this chapter at all, hence why it's taken me so long to release it, but I finally pushed through to the end and I'm like almost okay with the end of the chapter. I'm trying to keep the character development going forward strongly, let me know if there's anything I should add!

Rina pulled her hide bag down across her shoulder, adjusting the strap comfortably and then she carefully tucked away her small flint knife alongside a handful of dried meats wrapped in a thin hide before checking to see that her water skin was full. She filled her quiver with new arrows that she had fashioned in the days leading up to the preparation for the upcoming hunt. She slung her bow over her shoulder and pulled a thick fur lined hide around her to help protect against the cold. The wind howled, reminding her of the storm that was brewing outside and the tent flapped loudly in the wind and she was certain that by now it had also begun to snow. She shivered, though she was well used to her job of hunting by now, and the blood and guts that came with it there was no getting used to the cold of Northern Oros; one simply learnt to live with it.

The wind howled so loudly outside that she did not hear Ull enter her tent and she let out a loud gasp when she spun around to find him standing in the entrance to her tent. "I wish you wouldn't do that," she said, a hand pressed against her chest feeling her heart pounding. "How long you been standing there like that for?"

"I just come in now," he responded quickly, meeting her gaze, his face devoid of emotion as usual. The man always made himself impossible to read but she tried to not let it bother her.

She looked him up and down and her eyes fell on the club he was carrying in his hands and then drifted over to the bag he had hung around his waist which wasn't something he usually carried with him, "What you planning on doing with that?" she asked nodding towards the club before her eyes drifted back up to his face to meet his eyes.

"You take me with you," he said simply.

She eyed him curiously and bit her bottom lip slightly as she processed his response, "You want to come hunting with me?" she asked after a moment and he nodded in response, his fingers tapping on the wooden handle of his club. She frowned, "Why? Don't you think I'm capable of hunting on my own?" she asked with a slight curve to her lips, a mocking tone to her voice.

He suppressed a smile, hearing the mocking tone of her voice, "You don't want me to come?" he asked.

She laughed and shook her head slightly before looking back up at him, "Of course I want you to come, and so you shall." She smiled at him before stepping past him, pushing open the flaps of the tent before turning around slightly, "So come on then," she said and he followed her out into the snow.

~

The deer trotted softly through the thick blanket of snow that padded the ground and Rina watched it like an unmoving hawk lying in wait of it's prey. She turned to Ull slowly and brought a finger to her lips and pointed ahead through the deer as it walked through the clearing. She crept forward keeping close to the ground for a few more paces before tucking herself behind a tree, hidden from the deer's view as it lowered it's head to snatch a mouthful of grass. She continued to watch it for a moment longer before reaching into her quiver for an arrow that she hooked onto her bow string. She raised the bow slowly but steadily and took a deep breath. She stared down the length of the arrow, carefully lining up the arrow to match the deer's temple before slowly releasing the bow string with an exhale. The deer collapsed a few seconds later with a sad bleat and Rina lowered the bow slowly before slinging it back over her shoulder. She looked back at Ull for a moment and he rose and walked forward to meet her, and then together they walked forward to where the deer lay dead on the ground, it's crimson blood spilling out to make a stain on the white snow. She sunk to her knees beside the deer, feeling the dampness of the snow seeping into the hide of her skirt. She seized the arrow and yanked it roughly out of the deer's head before cleaning it quickly on the snow and stowing it back away into her quiver.

Suddenly she felt Ull grab her arm and whisper, "Don't move." A monstrous roar echoed through the clearing and she froze, her eyes growing wide. She looked up slowly to see a large brown bear stepping into the clearing, it's nose sniffing the air, it's head swaying from side to side. It was no doubt sniffing out the freshly killed deer that lay in the snow before them. The bear let out another roar and Rina trembled in fear, never in all her days of hunting had she been forced to come face to face with a bear. A bear was one of the few animals she chose to avoid because they could very easily kill you should you choose to fight them alone.

Her breathing sped up as she felt Ull gently tug on her arm and she slowly took a step backwards away from the bear as it lumbered ever forward towards the deer corpse. The bear's fur bristled and he sniffed the air for a moment longer before raising up on it's hind legs and roaring monstrously, a roar so loud it seemed to make the trees shake. Rina trembled violently and in her panic to get away her foot caught on a large tree root and she fell down on her back as the bear towered over her. The bear came at her and she scrambled backwards, but she wasn't fast enough to escape the bears claws as he lunged at her, it's claws scraping painfully across her left shoulder. She let out a scream of pain and tears sprung into her eyes, her good arm seizing a hold of her injured one as blood spilled from the wounds.

Ull let out a roar of fury from behind her before leaping in front of her, swinging his club out at the beast, the club making contact with the bears skull. She heard a sickening thud followed by the roar of the bear as the club hit it's target. The bear swiped out in rage at Ull, but he managed to evade the bear's claws. In response Ull struck the bear again on the skull and then again and again until finally the bear collapsed to it's knees and then fell onto it's side, blood coating it's head and it moved no more.

Ull stood for a moment, looking dwarfed next to the corpse of the bear, his chest heaving up and down and his club hanging from one hand, blood dripping from it onto the snow below. He turned after some time to see Rina lying on the ground, clutching her arm, tears pouring down down her cheeks and whimpers of pain escaping her mouth. She looked up at him with one eye still squeezed shut and whispered feebly, "Help me..."

He stared at her for a moment, unmoving and expressionless taking in the scene before him before he slowly moved forward and collapsed to her side onto his knees. He grabbed her injured arm gently and peeled away her uninjured one to inspect her wounds. The bear had carved four deep gashes into her shoulder, blood was spilling from the wounds and her whole body was trembling from shock. "In my bag...something...for the wound," she managed to gasp before grimacing in pain. His hand dove into her bag and fished around until he pulled out a thick strip of hide. He grabbed her arm again gently and began wrapping the strip tightly around the wound in order to stem the bleeding some and she groaned in agony, tears pouring down her face. "I need...green leaf...for the pain. It grows by the river...large flat green leaf....they grow out of the water" she begged, her free hand reaching out to grip his arm. He stared at her hand on his arm for a moment before meeting her eyes and nodding slowly. She peeled away her hand from his arm and he got to his feet and then disappeared into the shrubbery. 

The sun was setting in the sky and her head had become heavy and her vision blurry when she heard movement from across the clearing. She barely registered Ull stepping back into the clearing, a fistful of the giant, flat green leaves that she had spoken of. He knelt down beside her and she took one from him, her hand trembling, and she took a bite out of it and then another and chewed it slowly before spitting it out into the palm of her hand. "Put this into the wound," she whispered, holding it out to him. He carefully unwrapped her wound and scooped the green mixture from her hand. His eyes met hers for a moment and she nodded before he began pressing the mixture into the wounds. She writhed in agony and tried her best to muffle her groans of pain by biting down on a piece of leather she had tied around her other wrist. He re-wrapped the hide tightly around her wounds causing her to flinch in pain before pulling away from her. His hands were covered in her blood and so he pulled out his water skin to rinse the blood from them. After putting the skin away he looked up into the sky to observe the setting sun, "Need to make camp," he said.

She reached out gingerly to place a hand on his leg, "I hunt here often...I know somewhere safe we can stay. Let me take you there," she said.

He looked at her for a moment before nodding towards he wound, "You strong enough to walk?" he asked. She took a breath before holding out her good arm to him which he took and he helped her shakily to her feet. Her legs wobbles unsteadily, her body reeling from the shock of the wound and the loss of blood. She took a step, her legs shaking beneath her, Ull grabbed her arm, "You not strong enough," he said, gripping her arm.

"I'm fine," she insisted and took another wobbly step, her legs threatening to collapse beneath her. Ull held her steady before he scooped her up into his arms, an arm under her knees, the other supporting her back, cradling her much like a child. She let out a gasp, "Hey! Put me down," she protested.

Ull shook his head and look at her, "You not strong enough," he said. "Now, where to go?"

She sighed and slid an arm around his neck to support herself and she pointed into the bush, "It's that way. Just keep heading that way until you reach the lake." He nodded and heading into the brush.

~

Ull stepped out of the thick forest into a large clearing and his ears were greeted by the sound of rushing water coming from a waterfall that spilled down from a cliff into a lake. The lake was surrounded by water lilies and cat tails and along the cliff face from where the water spilled from was a small cave entrance, "In there," said Rina pointing towards it.

Ull carried her into the cave and gently laid her down on a fur pelt beside a burnt out fire pit, giving clear indication that she had stayed there in the past. He knelt down beside the fire pit and picked up two small rocks from the ground and started a small fire with ease. Getting back to his feet he stopped and took in the walls of the cave. The walls were covered in what appeared to be pictures, painted in blood, depicting people and animals. "You do this?" he asked, running his hand over the wall before turning back to face her.

She smiled and nodded, "Yeah. As I said, I hunt in the area often and at night time I paint."

He didn't respond at first but then he broke the silence, "I like it," he said before taking a place beside the fire. "Rest, we go home tomorrow," he continued nodding towards her. She contemplated his words for a moment before nodding and laying down on the fur. She watched him as he stared into the depths of the fire for a moment as though deep in thought before she closed her eyes and drifted into a peaceful sleep.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this feels so so so rushed, but I really wanted to smash this chapter out so I can get started on the next one!

It took almost an entire moon cycle for Rina to recover from her injuries from the bear attack. But she did so under the watchful eye of Ull, with help from Nita who stayed by her side throughout the healing process. She was certain Ull made her stay bedridden for far longer than she needed to, but she didn't mind as it gave her some much needed time to relax. She also got to spend some quality time with both Nita and Rian. She almost never saw Rian as he was usually in the arms of an Udam woman who fed him from her breast. Rina would have done so herself if she was capable, but having not bore children of her own, she could not.

Oros had began to finally shed it's winter skin, the powdery snow had began to melt away and the trees were growing new spring leaves and the flowers were starting to come to bloom. The rivers were no longer frozen over, and the grass was showing it's face once more. The same could not be said for Northern Oros, where the Udam were cursed to live. It seemed that the land remained in an eternal winter and the Udam suffered greatly for it; struggling to find food and shelter, often freezing to death or getting sick. But the cold was something that they just had to live with and as Rina crept along through the snow, her boots making small rounded indents, the cold nipped at her skin uncomfortably she dreamt of her fire back home in her tent.

It was her first hunt alone since the bear attack, Ull had been reluctant to see her go alone but she had insisted telling him she would be faster on her own, but the truth was, she was nervous. She knew she had to shake away the nerves though as being nervous would only make things more dangerous for her, but something was making her feel uneasy and she just couldn't shake the feeling away. 

She didn't really know what she was looking for as she crept along, probably something small like a rabbit, or even as big as goat. Nothing that would be too heavy for her to carry back to camp on her own before nightfall. Suddenly her eyes widened and a cruel smile spread across her lips as a small white rabbit hopped into the clearing, "Perfect..." she whispered, her hot breath causing a small white cloud to spill from her lips when she spoke. She reached back into her quiver to pull out an arrow to hook onto her bow string, her eyes not moving from her target. She raised the bow slowly, but suddenly stumbled forward as she felt something bash against her head. She fell forward onto her knees, her bow tumbling out of her hands and into the snow. She tried to spin around, but not before another blow had struck her head sending her spinning into an abyss of black.

~

Rina finally came to, her head spinning slightly, but after blinking a few times the world around her finally started to make sense. Trying to ignore the throbbing in her head she looked around and found herself in some sort of cage fashioned from large thick sticks and lashed together with ropes woven from thick flax. She knew that her flint knife could have cut through the flax with ease but it appeared that she had been stripped of her belongings. She crawled forward and grabbed the bars in her hands and shook them furiously for a moment before letting out a sigh of frustration realizing that she was truly trapped. She sat there for a moment feeling defeated before choosing instead to closer inspect her surroundings. There were many more cages like hers, both alongside her own and in front, rows and rows of cages full of captives. In the cage to her left was a Wenja man, thin and bony, his arms curled around his knees as though he were trying to protect himself, the bones in his elbows sticking out noticeably. Rina swallowed uncomfortably and looked up to meet his eyes and realized in that moment and despite their differences they were the same, both hoping that they were not the next to die. She tore her eyes away from his and focused on the cage to her left where there was a small Udam female who looked about the same age as her, perhaps a little older. She crept closer and grabbed the bars of the cage that separated them and whispered softly to the woman to get her attention as her eyes were closed as though she were sleeping.

"Hello?" She whispered.

The woman opened her eyes and slowly raised her head up to look at her, her pale eyes looked tired and sad, her face wearing an expression of defeat. She had the same freckles as Rina, splattered messily across her face, and her red hair was tangled and knotted. She looked very thin, and Rina could only wonder how long she had been imprisoned here. "You Udam?" the woman whispered curiously.

Rina nodded before speaking, "Where are you from?"

"Fortress of Dah," she replied.

Rina froze and her eyes widened in disbelief, "Does that mean...Dah's fortress has been taken by Izila? You were captured?" she asked and the woman nodded sadly. Dah's fortress had been in the eastern snowy mountains of Oros, but it appeared that even in the untouchable snowy regions of Oros, the Udam were being forced out, her people were no longer safe in their own land. And knowing that Dah was dead was a huge blow to her spirit, he had been a great man, a powerful man which is exactly why Ull had left him in charge of the Eastern fortress. Ull knew that Dah had the capability to protect it, but it appeared that the Udam were growing weaker and weaker as their forces were being driven further and further out of Oros and Rina felt helpless to stop it, more helpless than she felt about the fact that she was at this time, locked in a cage.

She snapped back to reality and turned once more to the woman before her, "Who are you?" she asked quickly.

The woman smiled weakly, "Jana," she responded softly. "And you?"

"Rina," she replied.

"And where you from Rina?"

Rina bit her lip slightly as though thinking before answering, "The North, Udam Homeland."

Jana smiled curiously, "You live with Ull, war chief of Udam?" she asked. Rina nodded and Jana smiled, "Strong, powerful man. Strong like Dah. I hear many stories of his power. He is great man." She paused for a moment and stared off as though she were caught in a dream before looking back at Rina and continuing, "You know him well?"

The question struck Rina in the chest like an arrow piercing her heart as she slowly digested the question while staring down at her palms. She wanted so much to know Ull well, but he seemed closed off, unable and unwilling to reveal himself to her. She shook her head, "No...I don't. But he taught me how to hunt and how to protect myself and survive in the cold of the north. He is a great man..." her voice trailed off leaving the pair in silence for a moment before she spoke again. "Do you know where we are?" she asked.

Jana shrugged, "Somewhere in south of Oros." She paused for a moment before continuing almost painfully, "They keep us here for many days, force us to fight hungry dog in pit. Many fight until they too tired, then get eaten by hungry dog. I wake and wonder when my day will come."

Rina nodded, absorbing the woman's words like a sponge, "So they kill us for entertainment. Do they leave anyone alive, anyone at all?" she asked with a slight hint of panic to her voice. 

"One man survive, he kill dogs in pit with bare fists. They make him slave, he work for Izila now," Jana explained.

Rina sat back to further contemplate her situation. It appeared that she was now stuck in a waiting game, waiting for them to decide when she was going to forced to fight to the death against a pack of hungry dogs. She knew that with her bow she could easily deal with the animals, perhaps ending their lives pretty painlessly. But without her bow at her side, without a weapon at all, she feared the worst for herself. Nothing could have prepared her for that. She wondered how long it would take Ull to realize that something was wrong, should she not return by nightfall she hoped that he would realize quickly and set out to find her. He was fiercely protective of her as though she were his own family and would rain down fury upon anyone who dared threaten her safety. However being a captive in an Izila camp meant that she was many days journey away from the snowy north that she called home and she hoped that by the time Ull found her, that it wasn't going to be too late.

~

The days passed uneventfully into weeks, and after being stuffed into a cage like an animal, Rina's body was starting to feel the effects. Her body ached from hours lying on the ground or sitting curled up in a small space where she could barely even sit up. Her body had started to acquire a layer of filth, her hair was unkempt and taking on a muddy color because she slept in the dirt. And she was parched and so starving that she was losing weight rapidly. She was lucky if she got a scrap of spoilt meat every couple of days, definitely not enough sustenance for a grown woman.

A couple of nights before they had pulled the Wenja man from his cage beside her and he had not returned. Rina had awoken in the night to his cries of protest as they had pulled him from his cage and dragged him away to meet his fate. She had clamped her hands over her ears, but nothing had been able to drown out the sound of his screams as the dogs had torn him apart. She had cried herself back to sleep that night.

Some days she spoke to Jana, mostly about what life was like in their respective villages and some days they did not speak at all. Some nights they would hold hands between their cages and sleep, such a small piece of comfort but somehow it helped. And each day she awoke with a crushing fear, wondering when her day to face the pit was coming. 

This particular day her head had snapped up from dozing to the sound of footsteps coming down the path, that was bad omen. The Izila were bored, they were seeking entertainment, and they were the entertainment. She looked over at Jana for a moment, who curled her arms tightly around her knees and tried to sink back further into her cage than was possible, before turning her attention back to the path to see a man approaching them. His face was covered in a mask of blue paint, contrasting brightly against his tan skin. He stopped in front of Jana's cage and crouched down to open it, a cruel smile on his lips. Rina's body appeared to act on it's own when she reached through the bars quickly and grabbed his arm, "Take me instead," she said, squeezing the man's arm tightly.

"Rina...no," whispered Jana shaking her head but Rina kept her gaze on the man's face and a tight grip on his arm.

He stared at her for a moment before the cruel smile widened, "So eager to die?" he asked. "Very well," he continued and moved closer to open her cage before reaching in and grabbing her by the arm and dragging her from the cage. He dragged her along the dirt path, and Rina looked back at Jana and just whispered, "I'm sorry," and shot her a sympathetic look as Jana gripped the bars of her cage and watched Rina disappear down the path. The man dragged her fasted than she could keep up, her body was too weak from hunger to even stand up properly so this sudden burst of exertion was causing her to stagger uneasily behind him and she was struggling to keep her balance.

He dragged her until they reached what she guessed was the center of the Izila camp and to her horror she realized that Jana had been right. In the deepest reaches of her mind, she had hoped that it was a fantasy, a tale spun to scare her. But there it was, the pit, filled with the half eaten bodies of the dead that had been pushed in to their doom and several hungry, angry dhole's all growling in unison. She swallowed nervously and felt a shiver of fear run through her body. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head, 'You must eliminate fear. Fear will weaken you. You must eliminate fear.' 

The man pushed her forward, and closer towards the pit and she looked around to see a crowd of Izila gathering with looks of glee on their faces as they prepared to watch her meet her doom. "Get in!" the man barked roughly at her, pointing towards a ladder that led down into the pit. She gulped before stepping cautiously towards the ladder and beginning the slow descent towards her probable doom. 

As her feet hit the ground and she spun around, her eyes quickly scanned the pit for anything she might be able to use as a weapon and they finally fell upon a spear. She made an immediate dash towards it as one of the dhole's prepared itself to lunge at her. She picked it up before spinning around and spearing the creature in the chest causing it to let out a yelp of pain. She quickly shook the spear free before piercing another dhole that dared to challenge her. Her chest began to heave as adrenaline took over, her lip curling in anger as the creatures leapt at her one by one and she took each of them down with a blow from the spear. She paused to take a breath but heard a snarl behind her and she let out a cry of pain and she felt teeth bite down into her leg. She spun around, grabbing the animal by the neck swiftly twisting her fingers painfully into it's neck causing it to yelp and let her go as quickly as it had bitten. She swung the spear around, piercing the animal through it's head ending it's life as easily as the others. 

She stood there, chest heaving, her body splattered with blood, a sick mixture of fur and blood surrounding her. She collapsed to her knees, the spear falling to the ground beside her as the adrenaline began to wear off. Her head started to spin and she finally collapsed onto her side and succumbed to exhaustion as she passed out.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, I couldn't wait to get this chapter smashed out! We finally see some sort of emotion from Ull, how exciting is that! Let me know what you think of Ull's development as a character, and Rina too of course!~
> 
> TRIGGER warning btw - Nonconsensual Sexual Touching

The sun was setting when Rina finally started to come to, and it came as no surprise to her that she once again found herself locked away in a cage like an animal. She sat up slowly and realized that Jana was staring intensely at her through the bars that separated them. "I did not think you will return," the woman whispered. "How you do it?"

"I killed them all," said Rina and she let out a bitter laugh and lowered her head to stare down at her bloody hands. "I don't know how, but I did it because I had to. Although I don't seem to be any better off than before do I?" She looked up at Jana who shrugged before returning to the corner of her cage. Rina buried her face in her hands to hide the tears that welled up in her eyes because in that moment she had never felt so hopeless. Her entire being ached from exhaustion, her mouth parched, her lips chapped, her stomach so empty she wanted to curl up in pain. She had no idea where she was in the world, and neither did Ull, and she had no idea if she would ever even see him again.

The sounds of the camp slowly died down as the sun settled to sleep for the night, but a loud scream broke the silence of the night and Rina's head shot up in surprise. She turned to Jana, "I didn't imagine that right?" she asked and Jana slowly shook her head in response. Another scream followed, then the sounds of panicked voices erupted from all over the Izila camp, barking orders in foreign tongue. The sound of a warning horn sounded signalling for reinforcements from nearby villages. Rina turned back to Jana, "They're being attacked. And they're calling for backup..."

The sound of the horn cut short as Rina assumed the blower had been cut down. "What will happen to us?" whispered Jana, a look of concern plastered on her face.

Rina paused for a moment contemplating their situation before she spoke with uncertainty, "This is our chance, we're going to get out of here. We have to."

"How?"

Rina's eyes scouted the ground of her cage and her hands began to frantically paw at the dirt until she finally unearthed a small jagged piece of rock. She turned to the front of her cage and began to cut at the fibers that held the thick stick bars of the cage together. She stopped and shrunk away into the back of her cage quietly when she heard footsteps running down the path towards them. It was an Izila woman, she was sobbing, blood splattering her face, a baby cradled in her arms. It was only when she went past that Rina saw what she was running from, fire. The outpost was on fire, and the fire was hungrily consuming everything in it's path and quickly making it's way towards Rina and Jana.

Rina watched the woman disappear down the path and she got back to work cutting through the fibers until they were thin enough for her to break through with her hands. She finally managed to break through and she pushed herself through the bars of the cage. "Rina, don't leave me!" cried Jana from behind her, her arm outstretched towards her.

Rina's face softened and she knelt down in front of Jana and smiled, "I wouldn't leave you behind," she whispered.

She made quick work on Jana's cage and she finally managed to pull the woman free. They quickly fled down the path and were heading towards what looked like an exit from the camp when an Izila man stepped out into the path blocking their passage, "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, his head cocked to the side, a cruel smile spread on his face.

Rina bored her eyes into his and reached out to grab Jana's hand, "We're getting out of here."

The man chuckled and took a step towards them, "I don't think so," he said shaking his head slowly. He reached down to his belt to grab a small knife and continued to walk towards the pair. 

With raging fire behind them and the man in front of them, Rina could only see one way of getting out of this; she dropped Jana's hand and threw herself at the man, tackling him to the ground and holding him down with what little strength she had left. "Jana run!" she cried. Jana froze, watching the scene unfold before her eyes, fire raging behind her, her friend holding down a blue painted man in front of her. "Jana now!" cried Rina again, as she struggled against the man. Jana let out an exasperated noise and fled down the path leaving Rina to continue her struggle against the blue painted man.

Rina struggled fruitlessly against the man, he was a lot stronger than her at this point in time and a lapse in strength allowed him to free an arm from her grip. He took the opportunity to grab a rock and bashed it against her head sending her spinning to the ground, a trickle of blood dribbling down her forehead. She felt the man grab her by the hair and she cried out in pain as he dragged her roughly along the ground and into a nearby tent. He flipped her over and leered down at her, "I like a girl with a little bit of fight," he said with a smirk.

She hissed angrily and tried to throw a punch at him but he just grabbed her arms and laughed as he pined them above her head. She tried to struggle, but she was just too weak, her body was too tired, her spirit broken. He leaned down to try and kiss her and she defiantly turned her head away, her face twisted into a scowl. He growled angrily and grabbed her chin roughly and twisted her face back to look at him, "I said I liked a little bit of fight, not a lot," he hissed before kissing her roughly on the lips. 

Once he pulled away she spat on his face, "You're filth and you don't deserve to breath," she hissed in disgust.

His chest swelled in anger and he shook his head disappointment and used his free hand to wipe his face, "You're not playing very nice," he hissed back at her. "Do you know what I do to girl's who don't play nice?"

He dragged his hand down her neck and down over her chest before disappearing under her top to touch her. Rina writhed in fury, "Get off me!" she screamed, but her rage only seemed to fuel the man, like he was a fire and she was the oil. Her breathing quickened and she clamped her legs together when she felt his hand disappear from her chest and move down to caress her thigh. "Please stop..." she pleaded but he just laughed in response. She swallowed, dreading what was to come, but she never found out what was to come, because as she squeezed her eyes shut she heard the man cry out in protest as he was pulled off her. Her eyes snapped open and she couldn't believe what she saw; Ull had seized the man by the neck and threw him into the ground. "How dare you touch her," he spat before bringing his club down on the mans head, over and over again until he was little more than a bloody mess on the ground. He stood there, chest heaving as he looked down at the mess that the man had become.

It was only when she whispered his name that he turned around to face her and the pair stared at each other for a moment as though they were frozen in time. But suddenly he came towards her, dropping onto his knees in front of her and in an instant she found herself wrapped into his arms, his cheek pressed flushed to hers, one hand tangled into her mess of hair, the other pressed against her back holding her tight to him. No words passed between them, only the tears that slid down her cheeks, dampening his skin and her heartbreaking sobs that broke the silence that had fallen over the tent.

After some time he let her go and she sat back and looked up at him, tears drying on her cheeks, "I knew you would find me..." she whispered.

He stared at her, observed how filthy she was, how much weight she had lost, saw how her spirit was broken and his heart broke within him. He reached out to grab her wrist gently and he let the fingers of his other hand run over the protruding bones and the scrapes and cuts that decorated her skin. "This my fault," he started and she inhaled sharply, but before she could protest he had dropped her arm and continued speaking, "I let you go alone, they take you, they hurt you. You hurt because of me."

"No that isn't true...." she whispered reaching out to touch his arm, but he grabbed her wrist again before she could.

"Look what they do to you! Is because I let you go alone," he insisted, his voice cracking with emotion. Before she could respond, he scooped her into his arms, so he was cradling her as though she were a child. He got to his feet and his eyes searched her face for a moment before he spoke again, "Is time to go home. I take you home."

"Okay..." she whispered softly, her lip trembling as she spoke. She let out a sigh and her heart ached painfully in her chest. She wished there was something she could say to him, but she was exhausted, she needed to rest. She leaned her head gently against his chest and closed her eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

~

It took several days of almost constant travel before Ull and his army of Udam warriors finally set foot back into their homeland. The journey had been mostly a silent one between Rina and Ull because she wasn't sure what she could possibly say to a man of little words who had somehow burdened himself with a fault that wasn't his.

Rina expected Ull to take her to her tent as he had done during her recovery from the bear attack but he walked past it and headed instead towards the caves in the thick of the camp where he lived with his family. He carried her through a maze of dark, mostly empty tunnels until he finally took her into a room where the floor was littered with furs, she assumed he slept in here with his children. He knelt down and laid her down gently on one of the furs, and he quickly positioned a pad of fur behind her head and helped her settle into a half sitting position. He turned to get up and leave but she quickly reached out to grab his wrist and she gently pulled him back around to face her. "Please stay...for a little while," she pleaded softly. He let out a sigh but succumbed to her request and he knelt down beside her. Her eyes searched his for a moment before she finally spoke, "Do you still...blame yourself for what happened to me?" she asked quietly and he nodded slowly. She shook her head, "Ull, I don't blame you for what happened to me. It wasn't your fault..." she continued in a whisper.

He leaned in closer to her, "I let you go alone, is my fault," he insisted, his eyes boring into hers with an intensity she couldn't fight.

She looked away and shook her head, distress plastering her face, "No! You're wrong, Ull! You let me go, but you didn't do this to me! Someone else did this to me, someone else hurt me, not you." He tried to pull away from her, but her grip on his wrist tightened, "Please...believe me" she pleaded, a tear sliding down her cheek.

He watched the tear slide down her cheek but before he could say anything else she leaned forward, her free hand curling around the back of his head and into his hair and she pressed her lips softly against his cheek for a moment before pressing her cheek flush to his. Her other hand let go of his wrist and wrapped around his shoulders as she pulled herself up towards him till her body was flush against his. It took a moment for him to respond, but after a time his arms slid around her holding her tightly. They stayed like that for a moment before she whispered softly in his ear, "Ull...it wasn't your fault...okay?"

She felt his chest heave with a sigh before he responded, "Okay," he whispered quietly back to her.

She squeezed him tightly for a moment longer, pressed another kiss to his cheek before pulling away from him slowly. She allowed her hand to linger on his cheek for a moment, her thumb caressing it softly before giving him a small smile and pulling away. "I'm going to get some rest," she said quietly before lying down on her side. They locked eyes for a moment before she reached out and placed a hand over his briefly, "Thank you, Ull...for bringing me home."


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, not 100% happy with this chapter at all. I sort of had no ideas for it so I ended up just word vomiting most of it and I think it came out like okay but not amazing.  
> Let me know what you think! I live for feedback!   
> Thanks ~

It came as no surprised to Rina that Ull kept her on further house arrest for the coming weeks after her return from the Izila camp. He couldn't bear to let her stray more than a few meters from the caves, even going with her if she wanted to fetch something from her tent. This also meant that she had taken to sleeping in the caves with Ull and his children, rather than staying in her own tent. It was like having an overprotective parent. He kept a close eye on her whenever he was around, so Rina was very surprised when she awoke to an empty cave that morning, even the children were absent.

She sat up and leaned back on her hands and looked around, it was odd to see the cave so quiet and empty, it almost made her nervous. She pulled the hide covers from her body and tugged on her fur boots before stretching and getting to her feet. Leaving the comfort of the sleeping den she wandered through the dark corridors that she was growing to know quite well until the sounds of children's laughter met her ears causing a smile to tug at her lips and she headed quickly in that direction. Stepping into a dimly lit room, she saw Mia, the woman who fed Rian milk cradling the boy in her arms and singing to him softly. Nita was sitting at the woman's feet plaiting some leather straps together and humming along to Mia's singing. Rina smiled and leaned against the doorway and watched the scene fondly for a while before Nita finally looked away from her work and spotted her. "Rina!" the girl cried happily and flung down her project before fleeing over to Rina and wrapping her tiny arms around Rina's waist.

Rina smiled warmly, "Good morning, Nita. Are you well?" she asked softly, her hand ruffling the girls mess of hair.

"Yep!" the girl replied before tugging gently on Rina's hand as she lead her towards Mia and Rian. Rina smiled warmly at Mia and leaned down to kiss Rian gently on the forehead before speaking, "Mia...do you know where Ull is?"

Mia bit her bottom lip softly before responding, "He went to hunt."

Rina sighed, "When will he return?"

Mia shrugged, "He not say, sorry Rina," she whispered and smiled apologetically at Rina before returning her attention back to Rian.

Rina couldn't help but feel slightly irritated that Ull would leave without waking her, or without offering to take her with him to hunt. It had been many many days since her last hunt and she was getting itchy fingers and her need to leave the camp was growing stronger with each day that passed. "It's okay Mia," she said with a quick smile before taking her leave from the room.

~

She managed to busy herself for the day during Ull's absence, crafting new arrows and fine tuning her bow, repairing a tunic for Nita and fetching fresh water for the cave's supply. Dusk was falling when she finally sat down to prepare a meal for herself and the children for dinner when Nita wandered in, "Hey Nita," she greeted the young girl with a smile.

"Hello," the girl responded before plopping herself down beside Rina.

"Do you want to help?" Rina asked, her head cocked to the side to look at the girl beside her who nodded slowly in response. Rina handed the girl her flint knife and a slab of thick bark laden with deer meat from Ull's last hunt. Rina had pledged to cook for herself and the family but refused to cook or eat human flesh, so Ull had reluctantly adhered to her requests by bringing back fresh animals for her to prepare. He could cook his own food, but it she did it so much better.

"Be careful with that," she said to Nita and pointed towards the knife, Nita nodded in response and set to work cutting the meat into pieces. "Cut it into small pieces okay?" Nita nodded again and Rina busied herself cutting some wild potatoes and carrots into chunks before throwing them into the large water filled clay pot full of water that was suspended over the fire.

She was in the middle of showing Nita how to check if the food was cooked when she heard a noise from the cave entrance and her head shot up like a rocket. "Ull..."she breathed, her eyes locking onto the man and looking him up and down as though she had never seen him before. He threw down the dead corpses of several rabbits before taking a seat beside the fire. His hands were covered in fresh blood and he looked surprisingly tired for a man of his size and stature. She watched him for a moment longer before turning her attention back to the fire and the cooking pot full of food. She grabbed the makeshift wooden spoon and she started to stir the food in the pot slowly. Suddenly her head began to throb violently and her vision began to blur and bright vibrant stars started to dance across her eyes. Her hand flung out before her and gripped the edge of the hot pot before her vision faded out to pure white before fading back into an unknown scene.

There was a clink of what sounded like metal as a blond haired woman stirred a spoon in her teacup for a moment before placing the spoon on the desk beside her before turning back to the brightly lit screen in front of her. She used one hand to move her hair out of her face before typing furiously on the keyboard.

A brunette man on the other side of the room spun around in a swivel chair with a wide smile on his lips, "Okay! I got another one! You're gonna love it, Tess!" he said excitedly as though he was a child and he clapped his hands together in glee.

Tess let out a sigh and turned slightly in her chair and adjusted her glasses, "Try me," she said, a slightly bemused expression painting her face.

The man wriggled his shoulders as though he couldn't contain his excitement, "Okay! Why can you never trust an atom?"

Tess paused for a moment as though thinking before shrugging, "I dunno, why?"

"Because they make up everything!" The man paused for dramatic effect before laughing hysterically at his own joke.

Tess rolled her eyes and scowled, "Come on, you can do better than that," she said in a disappointed tone before turning back to her work.

The man pouted and turned to face Rina, "Aww man, you thought it was funny right, Rina?" he asked hopefully, an eyebrow raised slightly.

Rina suddenly became hyper aware of her presence in the room with the man and the woman, and the machines and bright lights. But when she opened her mouth to speak no words came out. "Are you okay, Rina?" asked the man, a look of concern spreading across his face. "Rina? Rina!"

The man's voice phased into Ull's voice saying her name in a panicked tone as the man tugged her violently away from the fire. She blinked rapidly for a moment, her eyes looking from side to side as her vision came back to her. She gasped for air and her head spun uncomfortably and she became aware that her hand was turning bright red and starting to blister. She grabbed the wrist of her injured hand and cupped it to her chest as though she were trying to protect it. Ull moved around her till he was facing her and he rested his hands on her shoulders and waited for her breathing to return to normalcy before questioning her, "What happen?" he asked, his brow furrowed with concern. "You hurt," he continued and nodded towards her hand.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as she tried to ignore the intense burning in her hand before she opened them and looked up at Ull. She shook her head, "I don't know. I saw pictures, people...they spoke to me...said my name..."

"You have vision?" asked Ull curiously.

Rina swallowed, "I think so..." she replied uncertainly and wrinkled her brow in confusion. "They knew me...I felt like I was there..."

Before Ull could respond, she felt her hand stinging, bringing her back to the realization that she had burnt her hand on the cooking pot. She grimaced in pain and looked down at her hand, it was bright red, the skin peeling off in same places and several liquid filled blisters had formed across her palm and fingers. She trembled and looked up to meet Ull's face who was staring at her with concern. "You hurt..." he whispered and reached out to seize the wrist of her injured hand before inspecting it. He seized up a water skin and emptied an amount of water into a clay bowl and slowly submerged her hand into the cool liquid. She hissed in pain when her hand came into contact with the water, but the cool temperature of the water soon started to help ease the pain and she started to relax again.

Nita came over and sat beside Rina and the girl tugged softly on her uninjured arm and Rina slowly put her arm around the little girl and held her close. "You hurt?" asked Nita quietly.

Rina nodded, "Yes, but I'll be okay?"

"Really?" asked the little girl curiously.

Rina smiled, "Of course."

~

Following her accident with the cooking pot resulting in her burning her hand Ull sentenced Rina to further house arrest and she was starting to grow restless. The unsightly grey of the stone walls and the dim lighting of the caves was starting to driver her crazy, or at least she felt that way. She knew Ull would be cross with her if she dared leave the caves but she at least needed to stretch her legs.

Being on house arrest did come with it's own set of positives though, including spending ample amounts of time with the children and with Ull himself when he wasn't away hunting. She was slowly beginning to memorize some of the tunnels as well which made the caves seem more like home to her than a prison.

After eating breakfast that morning she had left both Nita and Rian in the loving arms of Mia and decided to take a walk through the corridors. It was quiet, almost uncomfortably quiet but it gave her some time to think, and she couldn't help but think about what she had seen that night when she had burned her hand. Those people from her vision seemed so familiar to her, and they certainly seemed to know her, like they were friends or something. But everything else had seemed to foreign, the strange machines and bright lights were like nothing Rina had ever seen before. Did she know those people? If she did, then how? Maybe they held some of the answers to how she ended up in this world. She had so many questions, but she shook them away as it was dangerous to dwell on such thoughts.

A noise broke Rina away from her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. She strained her ears listening quietly for the noise again, a groan of pain. She crept forward quietly, approaching the opening of a room, and when she peered inside she saw Ull sitting on a large fur covered rock, clutching his head in pain. But why was he here, so deep in the caves, it was like he was hiding; and then she realized that that was exactly what he was doing. He was hiding, trying to hide an apparent weakness, caused by an illness that might make him appear weaker. She bit her lip as she watched him and debated whether or not she should approach him. But she couldn't help her own curiosity and she stepped quietly into the room and tip toed across the room towards him before placing a hand gently on his shoulder, "Ull..." she whispered.

He jumped slightly at her touch and removed his hand from his head and looked up at her, "What you doing here?" he asked, he seemed a little annoyed but didn't seem angry at her for disturbing him.

"I was just...walking...passing time," she explained quickly, but her expression became one of concern, "Are you okay?"

He let out a deep sigh and shut his eyes for a moment before looking back up at her and he nodded, "Mmm," he responded at last although he seemed reluctant to continue.

She reached up suddenly causing him to flinch slightly and she pressed her hand to his forehead, "You're burning up! You're not okay, what's wrong?" He pushed her hand away from his face and tried to get to his feet, but she grabbed his shoulders gently and pushed him back down not meeting any resistance. He didn't want to fight her. "Let me help you..." she insisted.

He sighed heavily, his chest heaving and he closed his eyes again for a moment before meeting hers, "Cannot help. Is Skull Fire," he said in an almost defeated manner.

Her eyes widened slowly and they searched his face for a moment before she reached out to cup his cheek with her hand, her fingers dipping into the grooves and curves of the scars that decorated his skin. She thought he would try to pull away but he didn't and so she spoke, "I know you feel like you have to hide your pain, because you think it makes you weak. But you're not weak, you are the strongest man I know."

He met her eyes and for a moment she saw a glimmer of weakness in his facade, a glimpse of emotion but as soon as it appeared then it was gone and her heart ached for him within her chest as he opened his mouth to speak. "I am leader of Udam. Cannot be weak. Cannot show pain," he spat coldly.

She looked at him sadly and caressed his cheek softly before leaning in towards him and pressing her lips to his other cheek for a moment. She heard him inhale sharply but he still didn't pull away from her and when she let her arms slide around him in an embrace and she pressed her face into the crook of his neck, he embraced her back. "You can show me your pain, Ull. And even when you do, you will still be strong to me," she whispered to him softly and she tightened her embrace around him.

They remained like that for a time before they broke apart, and she allowed her hand to caress his cheek for a moment longer before she pulled away and gave him a sad smile, "I will always be here for you...no matter what. Remember that."


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a while to smash out and honestly it takes a very different turn to my other chapters. I dunno how I feel about this one tbh *thinks*

It was the thick of summer, it was hot, and Rina was sweating profusely which must have been an odd sensation as she lived in the coldest reaches of Oros which remained cold all year round. But she wasn't in the snowy north at this time, she was instead tramping through the Eastern forests with Ull. It had been many moons since she had been rescued, emaciated and injured from the Izila hideout and finally Ull had conceded to letting her go on a hunt, but he wouldn't allow her to go on her own, instead insisting that he accompany her. She was beginning to feel a little irritated at his over protectiveness of her, but considering that in just a few months she had been heavily injured twice and had been kidnapped once she supposed she could forgive his behavior. She looked over at him as they walked through the thick brush; he had a large deer slung over his shoulders, his brow was covered in sweat and his chest was heaving. She wiped her own brow before speaking, "We should find somewhere to rest."

He looked at her and nodded slowly in agreement. She knew that her painted cave wasn't far away so she began to make a swift beeline through the trees until the sound of rushing water spilling from the waterfall met her ears. She let out a smile as she pushed through the brush to reveal the crisp cool water of the lake. Approaching the waters edge she knelt down and dipped a hand into the cool liquid and she sighed, it was refreshing. She stood up quickly and spun around to address Ull, but he was already gone. She guessed that he had gone into the cave to prepare the deer for later.

She smiled to herself and turned back to face the lake. She placed her bow onto the grass before un-slinging her bag and bow and placing them beside her bow. Her boots and dress followed, leaving her clad in a simple wrap and something that resembled a loin cloth to protect her modesty. She took a breath before diving into the water, much like a mermaid slipping into the depths of the sea and disappeared beneath the water.

Ull emerged from the cave some time later to see her belongings abandoned on the grass beside the lake and for a moment her panicked before he noticed her paddling around the lake, her slender limbs pulling her through the water. He walked toward the edge of the lake before lowering himself onto his knees beside the waters edge. It didn't take her long to notice him watching her and she swam over to greet him. She pulled herself up to rest her elbows on the grassy bank, a hand tucked under her chin and a smile spreading across her lips. He stared at her, the water causing her skin to glisten in the light as though she had scales like a fish, and the water droplets sliding across her skin. The curve of her waist as it slid down and disappeared into the water, and her wet hair hanging down over her shoulders in thick reddish brown ropes. He swallowed almost nervously before his eyes met hers and she broke the silence, "You should join me," she whispered invitingly.

His eyes widened slightly, "Join you?" he repeated with uncertainty.

She nodded and reached up to touch his leg gingerly causing him to flinch slightly at the touch, "Please," she asked quietly, the smile never leaving her lips, her eyes affixed to his.

He swallowed and contemplated just for a moment of the dangers of lowering his guard like this outside the walls of the snowy north her called home, but her smile was like a knife penetrating his common sense. He nodded slowly before getting to his feet. He reached up and behind his neck to grab the strap that held his armor of bones before pulling it up and over his head and abandoning it on the grass beside her clothes. Next came the wrist and leg armor. Then his boots and upon resting his feet on grass, he wriggled his toes, feeling the softness of the grass beneath them, it was a sensation that he hadn't felt in years. Lastly he removed the bear fur that he wore around his shoulders and after discarding it, he looked so much smaller than before Rina noted.

Rina stared up at him, taking all of him in; never before had she seen him like this, without all of his armor or bear fur and yet there he stood, clad only in his blood stained fur skirt. Her eyes drifted slowly over the scars that coated the left side of his body, an extension of the scars that decorated his face. Her eyes rested there for a moment longer before they returned to his eyes and she smiled softly before reaching out a hand for him to take.

He stared at her for a moment before taking her hand in his own and gently sliding into the water with her. She pulled him through the water, swimming a couple of laps around the lakes edge before pulling him over to the waterfall and up onto the smooth rocks where they could sit comfortably, water splashing onto their skin. She rested on her knees just behind him and he suddenly felt one of her hands reach up to caress the side of his face that was twisted and burned with a gentleness that made him close his eyes, as he enjoyed the soft feeling of her fingers on his skin. She tangled her fingers into his hair and kissed the top of his head softly.

Suddenly she broke away from him and dove back into the water and he watched her as she swam elegantly back towards the shore. He soon joined her on the shore where she was now lying on her back, her hands behind her head, soaking in the sun's warm glow. He sat down beside her, water still dripping from his limbs and hair, and he couldn't help but stare at her. Her pale freckled skin, her long slender limbs and her hair, not half dry billowing out around her shoulders. She was certainly nothing like any of the Udam woman from his tribe that was for sure, and yet she fit in so well with them, like she belonged somehow. He swallowed and tore his gaze away from her and affixed it to the grass in front of him instead, anything to distract himself from the thought of her and what he might do to her if she allowed him to.

"Ull," he heard her whisper and he turned to see that she was now lying on her side, propping herself up with an elbow to look at him curiously. She was so unbelievably close that he swore he could have reached out to touch her. He didn't respond and instead she opened her mouth as though she were about to speak, but instead she just shook her head and let out a small laugh before returning to laying back on the grass, her hands behind her head and her eyes closed, a smile curling on her lips.

He watched her fondly for a moment longer before joining her.

It was late in the afternoon when they finally returned to the cave to cook the deer that they had caught earlier. Their clothes had been pulled into the cave with them but they still lay very much abandoned on the ground. Rina threw some bones onto the fire and licked her fingers before getting up from her place beside the fire, "I added some new pictures to my wall," she said. Ull looked up at her curiously for a moment before getting to his feet and joining her where she stood. She ran her hand over the wall where she had painted a series of images depicting a man fighting a bear and protecting an injured woman, "That's you...and me," she whispered softly, her fingers running over the images. "Do you remember?" she asked looking up at him, her head cocked slightly to the side.

Ull stared at the wall for a moment, at the images on the wall that depicted him saving her from the bear that had once attacked them and injured her. His heart beat against his chest like a drum and he turned slowly to face her before he reached out to run his fingers over the scars that the bear had carved into her skin. They were thick, ugly looking scars but he ran his fingers over them so gently as though they were precious and beautiful. She looked up at him and when their eyes met her knees wobbled and threatened to collapse beneath her. He saw her waver and he reached out quickly with his free hand to steady her by grabbing a hold of her waist and she looked surprised at the touch and swallowed nervously but didn't break her gaze from his.

Suddenly he pushed her back against the wall causing her to let out a gasp and when his lips crashed down against hers it took her a moment to realize what was happening. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, he tasted salty and smelt like a mixture of damp earth and sweat, and the way his lips moved against hers made her forget that anything else mattered in that moment. His body crushed uncomfortably against hers, pushing her into the stonewall, his hands gripping her tightly, leaving small finger shaped indents in her skin. And almost as quickly as it had begun, he pulled away from her and distanced himself, his chest heaving as he tried to regain his breath. He looked afraid for a moment as he looked her up and down as though he was remembering something terrible before he turned swiftly and run out into the darkness outside. She opened her mouth to speak, but he was already gone. She leaned back against the wall, a hand covering her mouth as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong.

When he didn't return to the cave after a time, Rina decided that she needed to go outside to try and find him. She pulled on her boots and slipped on her dress before heading out into the darkness. However, it appeared that he hadn't gone very far as she found him sitting by the edge of the lake staring into the dark depths of the water. It appeared that he was smart enough to know not to run through the forest in the dark of the night unarmed and unarmored. She knelt down beside him and stared silently into the water for a while before turning her head slightly to look at him. It was a full moon, and she could just make out the features on his face in the moonlight. "Ull," she whispered, reaching out to rest her hand on his arm. His gaze fell onto her hand but made no motion to move it. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, her brow furrowed with worry.

She saw his expression soften and he looked up at her before shaking his head, "No," he whispered and reached out to touch her cheek softly.

She reached up to cover his hand with her own, "Then why did you leave?"

He exhaled loudly and looked at her sadly, "I have mate long ago, she die from Skull-Fire. Remind me...you may also die...leaving me."

A slight smile curved onto her lips, "Well, I haven't died yet, and look at everything that's happened to me."

He didn't seem to see the hilarity of her remark, "Maybe you not be lucky next time," he said morbidly.

The smile fell from her face at his remark and his hand fell away from her face and he stared once more into the darkness that was the lake water. She shifted closer towards him and placed a hand on his cheek, moving his face to look at her, "You won't lose me Ull."

"But..." he started.

She pressed a finger to his lips, "Ssssh. You won't lose me," she insisted before pressing a kiss to his lips softly. "Okay?"

He looked at her for a moment before a small smile painted his lips and he nodded, "Okay."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooof, not entirely happy with this chapter at all. I knew from the beginning that I wanted a chapter like this, but I didn't know how I was going to conclude the chapter like at all. This is one that I will probably return to later and rewrite. Enjoy it anyway!

The sun was high in the sky above Northern Oros, bringing about a pleasant change to the once snowy landscape. Much of the snow from the winter past had shrunken by more than half of the normal amount and it made the landscape look almost unrecognizable. But Rina still fondly called this her home and she smiled as she walked among the fur covered tents of her people, hand in hand with Nita. The young girl was growing very close and attached to Rina, clinging to her side at almost any chance she got. The girl had even taken to crawling onto Rina's furs at night, clinging to the woman as she slept. Rina welcomed the girl with open arms, knowing that although she had Mia, she had no mother and the girl needed some sort of motherly guidance; Rina was more than happy to be a mother to the girl, and to Rian also perhaps when he got a little older.

Nita suddenly tugged on her hand and pointed towards a group of Udam dragging what looked like several dead Wenja into the village and Rina's face twisted into an expression of disgust and her face grew red with anger. She knew the corpses were intended for eating and it was something that she had never been able to come to terms with and accept as a custom of the Udam people. "Come on, Nita. Let's head back," she said, tugging on the girls hand.

"But..." the girl started to protest.

Rina ignored the girls protest and dragged the girl back to the caves in the depths of the village. Abandoning Nita in the care of Mia with a bitter smile she left to pace the halls of their cave home rather restlessly. Her mind churned, thoughts burning through the deepest reaches of her brain. She was certain the Udam needed to abandon their archaic ways and their taste for human flesh. Rina had no doubt in her mind that their diet of human flesh was what was causing the dreaded Skull-Fire, from which most of them, Ull included suffered from. Nothing else in their lifestyle seemed to point to causing any sort of dreaded illness, so it had to be their cannibalistic nature. She had had these suspicions from very early on since her arrival in the home of the Udam, but she had continued to observe and make her mental notes that might aid her in coming to a better conclusion. Skull-Fire was a direct result of cannibalism, she was certain of it.

A noise sounded and Rina jumped in fright and spun around. There was nothing there, but after listening for a moment she heard a groan of pain and she began to creep forward slowly. Approaching a doorway she peered into a room, where she saw Ull sitting on the large fur rock she had seen him sit on once before. He was clutching his head in both of his hands groaning in pain, and she felt a strange sense of deja-vu as she remembered this moment happening once before. She watched him for a moment longer, it was clear that he was in a lot of pain and discomfort and it tore at her heart to see him this way. But what tore at her heart just a little bit more, was knowing that he had come here to hide away; he still would not willingly reveal his weakness to her.

She stepped a bit further into the room and began to approach him, but he still didn't seem to notice her, at least until she spoke, "Ull..."

He looked up suddenly, his eyes wide, an expression of what could have been guilt plastered his face. Her expression softened to one of concern as she reached out to touch his face gently, his skin felt hot. "You have a fever..." her voice faltered as she observed him with concern. "Your condition is worsening...why didn't you tell me..." she whispered, pressing her own forehead to his gently, her hand wrapped around the back of his head. She pulled away after a moment and placed a kiss to his forehead before moving back to look at him. She took a deep breath before speaking, "I think I know why you...why all of you...are sick."

Ull furrowed his brow and his eyes narrowed with suspicion, "What you think?" he asked.

Rina bit her lip nervously, "I know why you are sick," she replied with slightly more confidence than she had intended. She took another breath before continuing, "Skull-Fire...it comes from the consumption of human flesh. It is the only thing that makes sense to me. You and your people consume flesh...and you all suffer the same symptoms; aching limbs, fire in your skulls, intense fevers. I believe that you must stop eating flesh...in order to become better...but I think that it may already be too late."

Her voice came to a sudden halt as she realized what she had just revealed to Ull. The cave grew silent, uncomfortably so and Ull did nothing but stare at her at first, almost in disbelief as he mulled over her words. He looked betrayed and his face began to grow red with anger and his expression quickly twisted into that of a scowl. He got to his feet and began to walk quickly towards her and she stepped backwards in an attempt to get away from him, but he reached out too quickly and grabbed her by the neck before slamming her back against the wall causing her to grunt from the force, "How long you think things?" he hissed at her, his breath hot on her face.

She gasped for air against his grasp, "Many moons..." she whispered.

He scowled and squeezed tighter still, "You keep this from me! You can help my people, help me....but you keep this from me!" he growled angrily at her, clearly letting his rage take control of his common sense.

His grip tightened further, and her face began to darken as she struggled to breath and her hands clawed frantically at his grasp trying to pull his hands away from her neck, a look of panic spreading fast across her features.

He finally seemed to realize what he was doing and he released his grip on her and took a step backward away from her. She let out a gasp for air and collapsed to her knees gasping for her breath, her hands nursing her throat. A sob rose into her throat and tears started to spill down her cheeks.

She looked up at him, not being able to believe what he had just done. She had expected anger but not this. He stared at her, horror filling his features and he made a move towards her as though to comfort her but she quickly scrambled to her feet and fled from the caves, but not before shooting him a look of betrayal.

She fled from the family caves, and stumbled down the hill towards her tent, ignoring the curious onlookers of her obvious distress. Tears were spilling down her face but she didn't cease running until she had burst through the hide entrance to her tent and collapsed onto her knees. She covered her mouth with her hands and sobbed hysterically for some time, before eventually her hands moved up to touch her neck as she relieved the feeling of his hands gripping her throat; suffocating her.

He heart ached bitterly in her chest as she desperately tried to make sense of what had happened, but her betrayal was clouding any sense of good judgement she might have had. Rina got to her feet and seized up her bow and quiver, slinging them across her body before fleeing out into the snow and away from the camp without a second thought.

Rina didn't cease her running until she had reached her painted cave, her lungs were burning from exertion, her legs ached and her skin shone with a layer of sweat. She stumbled into the cave and collapsed to her knees beside the burnt out fire. She rested her hands on her knees and waited for her breathing to slow to normalcy before taking in the familiar surroundings of the painted cave. Her cave, her safe space. But Rina couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. She stared at the burnt out fire suspiciously before taking a hold of one of the burnt out branches. It was still warm. Someone had been here, and they were probably still close by. Perhaps they would return. Rina knew she had to act quickly. She rose to her feet and slowly pulled her flint knife from the bag at her side. Her heart began to pound furiously in her chest as she crept ever closer towards the cave entrance. As she approached the entrance, her ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps returning to cave and she took a breath and drew her knife a little higher and prepared herself to pounce. As the figure rounded the corner, Rina swiftly pinned them to the ground, her knife held tight to their throat. The figure let out a scream of terror, as they dropped the basket they were holding and Rina's eyes widened in shock, "Jana..."


End file.
